Death of a Loved One

It is incredibly painful and difficult to cope with the death of a loved one or close friend. Whether it is a parent or grandparent succumbing to terminal cancer, a friend or classmate killed in a car accident, a baby brother or sister who just goes to sleep and never wakes up, or any loss of someone dear to you, it hurts. Death seems especially painful and difficult to accept when it is sudden and unexpected, like a deadly crash, a fatal heart attack, or a brutal act of violence. Here are a couple of things that may be helpful as you face the sadness of a loved one's death:

You may experience a wide range of emotions when someone close to you dies. You may feel terribly sad, depressed, hopeless, abandoned, frightened, and even angry because of what happened. You may cry as you have never cried in your life. You may feel emotionally drained and exhausted. And you may get intensely angry at the situation, at the person who died and left you alone, at the person(s) you consider responsible for the death, or even at God for allowing it to happen.

It is important to understand that all these feelings are normal and natural. It is the way God wired you. Your emotions are a built-in release valve to help you handle deep inner pain. Of course, there are both productive and unproductive ways of expressing these emotions.